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ُ ‫ﻠﯽ َر‬ َ ُ‫َﻧۡﺤَﻤُﺪٗه َو ﻧ‬

REPORTS UNDER SECTION 157

OF THE CODE OF CRIMINAL
PROCEDURE, 1898 HOW
SUBMITTED?

Justice ® Dr. Munir Ahmad Mughal

http://ssrn.com/author=1697634

Introduction:
The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898
has been so drafted that integrity and
transparency is achieved in respect of the
rights and obligations of all the
stakeholders at all stages on all planes.

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The reason is that whether the law is
substantive or procedural, the aim is to
administer justice. Once the ultimate aim
is clear all that is necessarily required to
be done to achieve it according to law
and under the law becomes an obligation
unless the law to be applied in that case
clearly forbids doing it.
The substantive criminal law of Pakistan
prohibits violation of any law in force
and terms it an offence.
A person against whom there is
allegation of commission of an offence is
called an accused person. The
arrangement to book the breaking of law
is made by empowering every person to
inform of the occurrence, to police to
register the information so lodged with it
and to investigate and submit its report to
the Magistrate.

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The domain of the Police is to
investigate.
Powers and functions of both the Police
and the Magistrate have also been clearly
defined by law and the rules.
The Magistrate is to hear and adjudicate
the matter after recording evidence and
give his verdict in acquittal or
conviction.
Thus when a law is violated and an
informer comes to the Police-station and
furnishes information to the officer in
charge of a police-station of the
commission of a cognizable offence the
officer in charge of the police-station
records his arrival and purpose in a
Police Diary kept at every police-station.
The police-officer allots a number and
date to it. This recording is not FIR. This
is earlier to FIR. After that whatever
information relating to the commission

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of a cognizable offence if given orally by
the Informant the same is reduced to
writing by officer in charge of a police-
station or some other police officer
whom the officer in charge of a police-
station directs to reduce it to writing and
after it is written the same is read over to
the informant and signed by the
informant and the police-officer who
records it. And the substance of it is
entered in a book kept by officer in
charge of a police-station in the form
prescribed by the Provincial
Government. This is done under section
154 of the Code of Criminal Procedure,
1898. And this is the First Information
Report. After the FIR is recorded another
report is entered by the officer concerned
to the effect that the FIR stood registered
and this report is also allocated an
independent number in the register. It

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means two reports are entered in the
Daily Diary one prior to registration and
the other after the registration of the
FIR.1 This is done under the Police
Rules, 1934.
After recording of the FIR the Police
Officer is given full discretion whether
or not to investigate the case; he is not
bound to act on the information. He has
the discretion to decline investigation
under section 157 Cr. P. C. if he
considers that there was no evidence or
ground to initiate investigation.2 In that
case the police-officer shall forthwith
notify the informantof the fact he would
not investigate the case or cause it tobe
investigated.3 He shall submit his report
under section 157 to the higher police-
officer for onward transmission to the
1
200 YLR 2294 (DB).
2
PLJ 2006 Lahore 507.
3
2002 Cr. Law Journal 53; PLD 1969 Peshawar 109.
.

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Ilaqa Magistrate as required by section
158.

Section 159 Cr. P. C. states that such

Magistrate, on receiving such report,
may direct an investigation or, if he
thinks fit, at once proceed , or depute any
Magistrate subordinate to him to
proceed, to hold a preliminary inquiry
into, or otherwise to dispose of, the case
in manner provided in this Code.
Thus there are many kinds of reports
mentioned in the Code of Criminal
Procedure, 1898.
Report under section 154 is called FIR.
Report under section 157 is called a
denial to exercise power to investigate
for insufficient grounds.
Report under section 173 is called the
final report.

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Report under section 202 of the
investigation conducted by the Police
under orders of the Magistrate.

In the matter of investigation it must be

remembered that in includes all the
proceedings under the Code of Criminal
Procedure, 1898 for the collection of
evidence, conducted by the police-officer
or by any person other than a Magistrate
who is authorised by a Magistrate in this
behalf. The nature of all investigation is
criminal and it is to remain within the
sphere of collecting evidence relating to
the commission of the offence. As to the
competency or authority to investigate it
is also under the law which authorises
the police officer or any person
authorized by a Magistrate in this behalf.
Investigation begins after the FIR is
lodged.

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Bibliography:
The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898.
AIR
PLD.